Biobank: Should You Build Your Own or Outsource?

Are you involved in continuing discussions about the need for finding biomarkers and improving translational research? At the core of biomarker development is the global healthcare movement towards personalized Companion Diagnostics (CDx), in which clinicians and doctors will be able to identify the patients most likely to benefit from a particular drug or biologic, and also help determine risk of an adverse drug reaction from a particular therapeutic agent. While biobanking sits at the heart of biomarker development, the key to quality and sound discoveries is quality management of the biospecimens from the very beginning. From my recent participation in biobanking discussions I’ve heard growing concern over the quality of the biospecimens available and the reliability of research into potential biomarkers.